A travelling exhibition of the Kirillo-Belozersky museum-reserve titled “Dolls from Grandmother’s Chest” is housed in the branch of the central district library. It will be open from September 10 till the end of the month. Readers can get acquainted with the traditional village toy - a folk rag-doll. Three main groups of them are presented at the exhibition: playing dolls, talismans and ritual dolls.
Playing dolls were destined not only for children’s amusement. When playing with them, they learnt to keep the house and got an image of the family. Girls learnt to swaddle dolls, to sing lullabies, to cook soup and porridge in small clay pots. The doll was not just a toy, but a symbol of future generations, guarantee of family happiness. Kids gathered together and arranged both a doll marriage and burial.
Ritual dolls were the main characters of ceremonies and traditions of our remote ancestors. They symbolized and protected some occupations or events.
Dolls-talismans were made without faces – they believed that the doll without a face didn’t have soul and couldn’t do harm to a man. When making such dolls, they used neither scissors or needles or any bladed articles. The doll made with the use of a needle wouldn’t protect a child. They could only tear patches or threads, but not cut them off. It was not allowed to sew the patches together - they should tie them together or twist around.
The rag-doll hasn’t become out of date. At present it enjoys resurgence and becomes the means of introduction to the folk cultural experience.
